Drop It!
Launch It!
Build It!In April 2009, in a speech at the National Academy of Sciences annual meeting, President Obama remarked "I want us all to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering, whether it's science festivals, robotics competitions, fairs that encourage young people to create and build and invent -- to be makers of things, not just consumers of things." Physics teacher Erich Landstrom listened to President Obama, and challenged his students to design, construct, and compete.
Ein Ei!The Fizzix Funday began with Drop It. The Palm Beach County Fire Department assisted in testing the lightest package to protect a raw egg from cracking after a sixty foot free fall from the ladder of the fire truck. Congratulations to Patrick Costan and Brian Harner, whose “Death Cock” creation weight just 19 grams and survived three falls!
At 10:30 AM, the students began Launch It, aiming for a projectile put together around an ordinary 2 liter plastic soda bottle with the greatest air aloft “hang time” launched by compressed air and water. Congratulations to Andy Bernardo, whose “Smurfette’s Nipple” was airborne for 7.0 seconds!
After lunch, the students finished big with Build It: creating a coaster with the longest ride time to go from the Start position to the Finish (with bonus points for loops and attraction). Congratulations to Christopher Bainter and Andrew Piroli, whose “Perfect Plumbing” kept rolling along for an average of sixteen seconds!
